BARRON CANYON - JULY 2013 (Part 2)

We paddled further down the canyon, past the highest point, and the lookout trail above. The Canyon has a curve to it, and from either end the north face marches away like silent soldiers in a never ending file. Of course, paddling the canoe well and getting an ideal photograph are mutually exclusive endeavors, so one must just do a little imagining.

I decided to continue the entire length of the Canyon, and exit at the Squirrel Rapids parking lot, even though that meant having to find a way back to the van at Brigham Lake. Squirrel Rapids is just about a kilometre from the Sand Lake access gate, and I was pretty confident I could leave the boys with the boats for a bit, make the gate, and get a lift back to the van.

With that considered, we continued paddling east, passing a group of girls heading in the opposite direction in three large canoes, and finally exited the canyon, continuing on toward the final portage upstream of Squirrel Rapids.

Looking back to the west, Rudi and AJ in the jaws of the canyon.  The walls above are about two hundred feet high.

Looking east, with the camera lens zoomed out all the way to a mid - telephoto, 105mm focal length

This picture was taken within seconds of the photograph above, with the lens zoomed back in to a fairly wide angle, 28mm

Again, this photo is within ten seconds of the previous, after turning the boat around and looking to the west.

East again, the canyon walls simply disappear from view from the river, folding away into hills on either side.

BARRON CANYON - JULY 2013 (Part 1)

After a season generally away from canoeing for a number of reasons, including cataract surgery on my left eye last summer, Rudi, Alexander and I got back into it in grand style shortly after leaving for our first visit to the cottage over the summer holidays.

This year, we invited AJ, a friend of Rudi's from cubs, up for four days or so of paddling, and possibly an overnight trip in some fantastic country in Eastern Ontario. The canoes this year were a Swift Kipawa kevlar, and an older plastic on aluminum frame Coleman, borrowed from two of Katherine's friends. I am hoping to acquire one or two H20 Composites by the end of the summer, of course...

My bowman, Alexander this time, as we head downstrem on the Barron River from Brigham Lake

Rudi and AJ learning the finer points of steering a canoe down the channel.

The Barron Canyon opens up.

A view of the scale of the size of the Canyon. AJ and Rudi are in the red canoe in the distance, looking from our boat back upstream.

ALL LOADED UP...

I owed Jeff a favour, so talked to him a week or so before we headed to the cottage. It turns out he had two H20 Canoes that were special ordered, and needed to be delivered to Frontenac Outfitters, along with a kayak that had been sent to him for repair. Timing worked out quite well, the boats were loaded on the van the night before, just after we had the van packed for our two weeks or so at the cottage (along with a washing machine, and a wheelbarrow). Here is the van at about six the next morning, just before I headed out for Kingston. Katherine and the boys would head out later in the little car, and meet me later that day.